New Age Death Metal
By EvilGate
Darien quietly hunted through the library for the necessary research
material he needed, footsteps making no sound on the thick carpet. The
assistant librarian, shelving books with a detached sort of self importance,
granted him a quick smile before dutifully continuing her task as he turned
toward the nonfiction section of the library.
Standing on two massive black steel toed boots, a heavily built man
with short brown hair stood with his back turned to Darien, apparently paging
through a booklet. A long, black trenchcoat swished at the tops of his feet
as he shifted his weight. Darien tapped him on the shoulder. The man turned
around, revealing pale features, sunken eyes and a T-shirt that read "Cradle
of Filth." "Yes?" he said.
"Would this be the New Age section?" Darien asked. "I am doing a
paper on the New Age cults for my psychology course," he added hastily, not
wanting to seem like an occult freak.
The man smiled. "Yes. Umm...up toward the top are the instructional
books with things like Wicca, Tarot and such, while the less technical stuff
is probably going to be at the bottom."
"Thanks," said Darien, kneeling down and pulling out a random book.
He opened it and began reading the introduction. "You into this stuff?"
The man grinned ferally, putting the book he had been paging through
back on the shelf-the top shelf, Darien noted-and thrust out a hand. "Why,
yes. Itna Tsirhc, Apprentice Magician of the Left Hand Path."
Darien shook his hand and introduced himself, but mostly erased the
strange man from his mind and began his research in earnest. Some of the
things involved in the occult, he noted, could easily be explained by the
antics of Serena and the rest of the Scouts. After all, they did have cat
familiars-well, two of them did. They did some things that seemed impossible,
after all. But he found some disconcerting truths, as well.
Darien was fascinated by the research. He stayed long beyond when he
had planned too, forgetting entirely about the meeting with the scouts later
on in the evening. Then, almost two hours late, he chanced to look up at the
clock and gasped. "Oh my God!"
He looked over at Itna, who was engaged in an activity that looked
like playing solitaire, but as Darien walked over to him, he noticed that the
cards were bizarre, with depictions of strange creatures. Tarot cards. He
suppressed an unexplainable chill as Itna looked up at him with those hollow
brown eyes. "May I help you?" he asked politely.
"Listen, I'm really late for something. Could you give me a ride to
the temple downtown?" Darien asked.
Itna turned a card over, glanced at it, looked up again and spoke.
"Destruction and violence," he said, "or possibly just conflict. You are
going to, or planning for, some kind of verbal or physical battle."
Darien's jaw dropped. The meeting, as a matter of fact, was indeed
to discuss the weaknesses of the scout's latest foes, the Necrolytes, a pair
of seven foot tall, strangely fanged creatures sent from nowhere that had
been draining the energy of passengers on the subway. The strength beneath
their mottled hides of gray and green was enormous, and they had been able
to elude the scouts several times.
Itna glanced at Darien's expression, gathered up his cards and
carefully folded them in a white cloth with several red stains, and put them
in a purble bag hanging at his waist. "Come on." He began to walk off.
Darien numbly followed. How had he known? It seemed impossible.
They exited the library, Darien ignoring the assistant librarian's wave as
Itna led them toward a grey car in the parking lot. He got in on the
driver's side and waited as Darien got in on the passanger's side and
fastened his seat belt. Then he began to drive.
"How...how did you know?" Darien finally stammered.
"The cards don't lie," said Itna cooly, "but I will help you,
because I sense no evil in you."
"That's impossible...nonsense!" Darien gasped, but the argument
sounded feeble.
"Then don't believe me. Say 'coincidence' if you wish, or 'lucky
guess.' But you know I am right." Itna took a corner smoothly and began to
drive toward the temple.
"What else can you sense?" asked Darien, curiosity piqued.
"You have a mystical nature about you," said Itna, "Either you have
latent mystical abilities, or you have been augmented to have such. Since
your skepticism towards the occult seems to eliminate the latter choice, you
must have some sort of latent abilities."
The car stopped outside of Rei's temple, and Darien got out. "Thanks
for the ride, Itna...and the information."
"Look me up if you need me...Tuxedo Mask." The car sped off, leaving
Darien slack jawed in front of the temple. Only when he heard Rei's shout
from behind him did he recover.
"About time! Serena must be rubbing off on you!" she shouted, waving
him into the temple. He numbly walked into the temple behind her.
* * *
Itna flipped on the CD player in his car, and pushed the play button.
A Cult tune began to scream through the interior of the car, the heavy sounds
contrasting sharply with his quiet contemplative thoughts.
Tuxedo Mask. Bizzarre. But the conflict, the mystical nature and
the roses in his aura were unmistakable. The man had realized some of his
power, but Itna sensed a great deal more lurking within. The power could
have reached an incredible pitch, but deep inside, he probably didn't quite
believe in it. Itna shook his head, recalling the fate of all the mystics
and magicians he had seen with the same problem. Oh, well. It was none of
his concern.
He turned the corner to his master's home, where the old man who
taught him the supernatural lore on which he thrived lived. He gasped in
shock as he saw the smoke billowing from within the house. Wheeling into the
driveway, he leapt out of the car and began running into the house, noting
absently the sirens in the backround. He smashed through the door with 190
pounds of muscle and immediately retreated, the heat forcing him back outside
into the summer air. Coughing and hacking, Itna steeled his resolve and ran
into the heat and smoke. His eyes burned, and his lungs were rapidly filling
with smoke. He dropped to his hands and knees and began crawling through the
hallway. "Master!" he cried, but the sound was drowned out by the crackling
of flames. Then he heard the screams begin up above, and he stood up
straight.
"Mi terls ichty phippis ylav..." the chant began, and he grasped a
black pouch at his belt. Reaching inside, he grasped a pinch of the powder
within, chanting in the long-dead tongue all the while. Then he flung the
powder into the air at the ceiling. A hissing, bubbling noise began to sound,
and sulpurous smells filled the air, and pieces of the ceiling began to drip
down, melted and twisted lumps of metal and burning lumps of drywall. Itna
leapt up and grabbed the rim of the newly created hole and pulled himself up.
The smoke nearly filled the room, but he couldn't mistake the screams of his
master as something held him up against the wall. The shape was huge, almost
seven feet tall and four feet across. But Itna didn't care what it was as he
screamed incoherent words at the creature. The creature dropped his master
as boils began to appear on it's flesh, stretching the skin to vicious
proportions. It's scream was definitely not human as it dropped to the floor
with a heavy thud. The boils began to burst in a spray of blood and pus,
insects and centipedes crawling from within over the creature, which screamed
in agony. It was clawing at itself as Itna reached toward his master.
The floor under Itna exploded, filling the world with heat and shards
of wood and metal, as another horrifying shape burst through. It snarled
hatefully and brought one huge foot down on Itna' master. The crunch of bone
filled the room, drowning out even the screams of the other creature as both
dived into the ground below. Itna regained his feet and slumped backward
into the arms of a strange creature with a fire extinguisher and a face mask.
* * *
Darien's explanation of the incident at the library and the death
metal occult freak was met with open skepticism from Amy, serious concern
from Rei, and abject fascination from the others.
"Coincidence, or something. You must have alluded something in your
conversation with him," said Amy angrily, "You may have given it all away!"
"Yeah, in all the ten words we exchanged," Darien said sarcastically.
"Yes, Amy, but remember-some of the things we do are impossible," Rei
said, "This guy could pose a major threat."
"There's just no way! That fortune telling stuff, and all the black
magic and..." Amy trailed off.
"Whoa! This is so cool!" giggled Serena, "A fortune teller!"
"This is SERIOUS, Serena!" Darien said, "This guy could give it all
away."
"I doubt it," said Rei. "People like that are usually pretty good
at keeping secrets.
"Yes," came a rasping voice in the doorway. The smell of ashes
filled the room as everyone turned around. Darien gasped. It was Itna,
covered in soot and blood. He was shaking on his feet.
"Itna? What happened?" Darien gasped. Itna dropped to one knee, as
if he couldn't hold himself up any longer.
"Itna? THIS is your fortune teller?" Serena sniffed. "He doesn't
look so dangerous."
Itna' expression may have been mistaken for a smile, but looked like
a snarl. "Only because you don't know me."
"What happened?" said Darien.
"Demons, or something. They...killed my master and destroyed my home.
Are these the creatures you are in conflict with?" Itna gasped at every word.
At the end of his sentence, he twisted suddenly, and pink froth exploded from
his mouth.
"Well, could we talk about this later?" harrumphed Rei. "He's hurt."
Itna gestured to the blood. "This? It's not mine."
Rei pointed at the four inch shard of metal jutting rudely from his
upper abdomen. "And I suppose that isn't yours, too? Yeah, right."
It was almost an hour before Rei and Amy decided Itna was uninjured
to the point where he could move, and he refused to talk while lying down.
He vehemently denied his injury as he sat down beside them, but winced
despite himself.
"Demons. Are you hunting two huge demons?" he spat out, almost
before anyone else could sit down.
Darien explained the Necrolytes and described them. Itna nodded.
"Yes. They are the ones who destroyed my master's home and killed him." He
went on to describe the incident in more detail.
"But why?" asked Serena, even her nature subdued by Itna's macabre
tale.
Itna waved a hand airily. "My master can summon and control demons
like that. Few demons are on good terms with conjurers of such power."
"So...you could control something like that?" said Darien.
"Gods and demons, no! Even on a good day, my power isn't anywhere
near the level of my master. I barely managed to fight off one of them."
A glint of steel suddenly shone in his eyes, replaced rapidly by a
spark of rage. "But next time we meet, these so called 'Necrolytes' die.
On my power and on my soul I vow it."
* * *
Itna thudded through the subway seething with rage. So far, not a
hint of demonic activity. Casually dressed and seated far apart, the scouts
and Darien sat on the subway around him. As he passed Darien, he gave a tiny
shake of his head. Darien sighed, and passed the signal on. No demons on
this train. Time to get off.
The station they got off on was empty, even the ticket-taker missing.
Curiously, Itna scanned the aura of the place, and gasped in shock as he saw
the black and red waves that signified demonic prescense. He started to warn
the scouts, but before he could open his mouth one of the Necrolytes burst
through the floor, showering he and the others with chunks of concrete.
Itna screamed unprounnouncable words at the concrete floor, and a
huge chunk of it ripped free and hurtled toward the demon like a rocket. The
demon dived out of the way, and the scouts scrambled for cover behind the
pillars in the room as it slammed into the wall. The lights flickered as
Itna spat more words of power. Cables shot out of the walls and ceiling and
began to entwine the demon, whose great strength snapped them like twigs. It
charged forward toward Itna, who stood his ground quietly.
The scouts behind him were finally getting around to transforming,
and a rose slashed through the air above his head. It sprouted, quivering,
from the creature's chest, and it looked down dumbly at it. Then it roared
and charged forward. Itna threw his hand up with more words of power, and
the creature was knocked back on it's heels. Itna pressed forward
relentlessly, screaming harsh, grating syllables as he thrust a pointing
finger at the creature. A long serpent of flame seemed to slither from the
tip of his finger, shooting straight forward and washing over the creature,
who screamed in pain as the stench of it's own burned flesh filled it's
tainted nostrils.
A crack ran through the concrete between Itna' feet, and a massive
clawed hand reached through and grasped his leg. He snarled viciously as he
was jerked to the ground. The other creature, recovering from Itna's flame
attack, began to stop forward, only to be repelled by a thunderbolt from
Sailor Jupiter and a beam of light from Sailor Venus. Tuxedo Mask,
meanwhile, was beating ineffectually on the hand that grasped Itna, his cane
doing little damage as Itna began a rasping chant. Itna reached into his
pouch and scattered powder into the crack. Infernal heat began to pour from
the crack as Itna' chanting reached an incredible pitch and volume. Tuxedo
Mask could have sworn his eyes flashed red as flames erupted within the
crack, demonic screams bursting forth as the second Necrolyte clawed it's way
out of the hole, blistered flesh reeking of burnt earth. It's long, forked
tongue played over it's lips as it tossed Itna almost casually into a wall.
Itna' impromptu chant was cut off by a dull smack. Darien squared off with
the creature, a rose ready to throw in his left hand. A huge fireball
slammed into it's eyes as Sailor Mars came up beside him. Then a scream
behind him told Darien that someone had connected an attack with the other
creature. As the creature started to leap forward on them, a swirling
mist appeared at it's feet, and when the mist cleared, a large patch of ice
had appeared. Sailor Mercury gave a shout of victory as the creature's
chinless face slammed into the ground with a dull crunch. It's eyes slowly
closed, unconciousness taking over it's puny mind.
Then a terrifying scream filled the air as rapid fire-incoherent
syllables echoed from the walls. The other creature, standing over Itna'
prone form, began to claw at it's face and torso as the shadows in the
corners moved and began to envelope it. Desperately it tried to tear them
off, but they shifted position quickly and resulted only in the creature
digging into it's own skin. Itna got to his feet and continued chanting his
horrifying spell, the shadows covering the creature and paralyzing it
entirely.
"Sailor Moon?" he rasped. "Would you do the honors?"
Sailor Moon smiled and pulled her sceptre from thin air. "MOON
SCEPTRE ELIMINATION!" she shouted, as a crescent beam of radiant light
slashed brutally through the shadows and the creature within. With an
agonizing scream, the creature faded into nonexsistence, leaving behind only
a pile of purple dust and a faded black gem.
The Scouts, Tuxedo Mask and Itna gathered around the gem. Itna
opened his mouth to speak, then shut it. Darien finally broke the oppressive
silence. "I guess it's over."
Itna smiled, a normal, uncomplicated smile. Then it turned to a
silent shriek of pain as a huge fist slammed into his back and sent him
hurtling into the far pillar. He groaned and tried to rise, then crumpled
again. The other creature, having recovered, stood in their midst swinging
it's massive fist at them. Sailor Venus was knocked to the ground with an
almost casual backhand swipe, and Sailor Mercury was crumpled by a fisted
blow to the face. Tuxedo Mask dodged the first blow, but the second hit the
back of his knee and he went down down hard. Sailor Moon began to initiate
her sceptre attack, but the creature bit the sceptre and yanked it away from
her in it's teeth. She shrieked and turned to run. Sailor Mars gave a
fierce battle cry and sent a ball of fire roaring over the creature just as
Sailor Jupiter put a huge thunderbolt into it, and it dropped to the ground
smoking and snarling. It leapt forward, pinning Sailor Mars beneath it's
huge bulk, and opened it's fanged maw to bite her. She put her hand on it's
piggish snout and pushed with all her strength, but the huge mouth kept
getting closer and closer, so she could smell it's foul breath as it's jaws
prepared to close on her neck.
Then one of the teeth shattered and was knocked back into the gullet
as Sailor Jupiter unleashed a brutal kick, sending greenish blood spurting
onto Sailor Mars' face. Derisively she wiped it off and prepared to hit it
with another fireball when it reached forward and grabbed the both of them by
the top of the head. Lifting them up with ease, it slammed their heads
together and they dropped to the ground unconcious. It lifted one huge foot
to stomp on Sailor Mars' head when a thrown rose slashed it's kneecap and sent
more ichor spewing into the air. Tuxedo Mask, crawling on one knee, tried to
throw another rose but it flew far wide as the creature laughed wickedly and
raised his foot again.
With all the commotion, no one noticed a pair of hateful brown eyes
in the corner and a whispered chant until a steel I-Beam ripped it's way
loose from the ceiling of the subway and hurtled toward the demon. It's
mouth opened in abject shock as the I-beam crunched through it's face, right
over the bridge of it's nose, and continued on through until it's entire
length was covered in green ooze and gray brain tissue. Through the gaping
hole where it's face had been, Tuxedo Mask could see Itna's wicked smile as
the demon crumpled for the last time.